The present invention relates generally to vehicle navigation systems, and in particular to a vehicle navigation system that is capable of identifying regularly traveled routes and use this capability to provide additional features.
Vehicle navigation systems have become available in a variety of forms and provide for a variety of useful features. Some vehicle navigation systems are able to determine an optimum route to travel by roads between locations. Using input from an end user, and optionally from equipment that can determine one""s physical location (such as a GPS system), a vehicle navigation system can examine various routes between the end user""s present location and a specified destination location to determine an optimum route to travel. The vehicle navigation system may then provide the end user with information about the optimum route in the form of instructions that identify the maneuvers required to be taken by the end user to travel from the starting location to the destination location. The instructions may take the form of audio instructions that are provided along the way as the end user is traveling the route. Some navigation systems are able to show detailed maps on computer displays outlining routes to destinations, the types of maneuvers to be taken at various locations along the routes, locations of certain types of features, and so on.
Although vehicle navigation systems currently provide many useful features, there is opportunity for enhancing their capabilities. For example, features such as map display, route calculation, and direction instruction are particularly useful in scenarios where the end user is not entirely familiar with a particular geographic area in which he/she is traveling. In scenarios where the end user is traveling along familiar routes, there is a need to extend the functionality of navigation systems to enhance the overall driving experience. In these situations, end users may be provided with other useful features. Accordingly, there exists a need for a navigation system capable of identifying routes routinely traveled by an end user and providing additional useful features based on this information.